Manicotti

Allison asked me for this recipe many moons ago and I am finally getting around to doing it.

12 large manicotti shells (the pkg usually has 14 in it and I use every one if they are not too broken)
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 cups ricotta cheese (since I use more shells I use 2 - 16oz tubs of low-fat ricotta cheese)
6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dried basil
1 (26 oz) jar prepared spaghetti sauce, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on wax paper or aluminum foil.
3. For filling, in medium bowl, stir together 3 cups mozzerella with the ricotta and basil. Using a small spoon, carefully stuff pasta shells with prepared cheese mixture.
4. Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzerella.
5. Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately. ENJOY this pretty quick, meatless, yummy meal!!

Note: I use all the shells and can usually fit 10 lenthwise and then put the other four in two rows above the 10 shells. To save a TON of time I cut open each shell lengthwise, fill it up and then close it and make sure the cut part is on the bottom when I put it in the bakeware. You would never know that I cut the shells unless someone told you.